View from 10,000 Feet: Artist Jim Darling is using his paintbrush to capture the beauty of those stunning views from airplane windows that are so hard to capture with a camera. Using an airplane window as a frame, Darling creates miniature landscapes ranging from sunsets to cityscapes to mountain views. He explains, “The size and shape of the window is excellent for blocking out what is behind you. It leaves you with a concentrated view and your thoughts…The grand view shrinks things and as a result you feel small and that can be humbling.” For anyone who has ever tried to capture that stunning view from the window seat only to be disappointed by a dull picture with window glare, these works of art are both satisfying and inspiring.

It’s Not Too Late to Join a Pop Band: Japan’s latest pop sensation, KBG84, boasts 33 women…with an average age of 84. Their hit single, “Come on and Dance, Kohama Island,” has landed them a record deal and gigs across Japan. Their tour brought them to Tokyo, a new destination for many of the members (who hail from Okinawa). One member recalls, “We felt like stars in Tokyo. Everyone in the audience had a big smile, which gave us the energy to sing our hearts out.” The band has a minimum age requirement of 80 and the oldest member is 97– and there are plenty of eligible women, considering Okinawa’s incredibly long life expectancy (often attributed to the local diet of many vegetables and low sugar). These women are certainly teaching us that you’re never too old to sing and dance!

Redefining Beauty Standards: Emmy-nominated director Joanna Rudnick’s new documentary, On Beauty, follows photographer Rick Guidotti as he seeks to redefine beauty by portraying people with genetic, physical, and behavioral conditions that would usually preclude them from participating in the modeling and fashion world. Guidotti was first inspired by the sight of an albino girl at a bus stop in New York: “She was so beautiful, yet I absolutely understood she had never been recruited into that beauty standard.” Initial research into albinism and other genetic conditions only let Guidotti to “images of sadness.” “I couldn’t find one positive image of a person with albinism,” he reports. Guidottii uses his photography as a tool of empowerment and social progress. On Beauty was released in Los Angeles and New York last week.

The Future of Music Festivals: As events like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza continue grabbing the attention of the nation, many are unaware of the turf war being waged over ownership of the booming music-festival business. Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and AEG Live “are trying to buy every festival out there that can be bought…what you’re seeing now is a race to control the content of festivals” explains Gregg Perloff, founder and chief executive of Another Planet Entertainment, which runs Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco, America’s biggest independent festival. Consolidation of the music festival business could mean more homogenous line-ups but could also bring down ticket prices– a promising prospect for those unwilling to shell out for the $375-$899 price tag for Coachella this year. “Festivals reflect how fans are consuming music in a digital world. It’s immersive, it’s sampling and it’s being done in a social way,” explains AEG Live CEO Jay Marciano. It will be interesting to see how the festival scene changes as these two companies vie for control, reminding us all that to many, music is first and foremost a business.